Commons
Westminster Hall
6 January 2026
7 contributions
Poverty and Welfare Policies
I beg to move,
That this House has considered poverty and Government welfare policies.
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Efford. One of the most important legacies this Labour Government could achieve would be the massive reduction in poverty and the widening of opportunities for…
I will come later to the debate we had about PIP. I absolutely agree, and all the evidence shows, that disabled people are much more likely to face poverty and hardship than able-bodied people.
At its core, poverty prevents people from playing a full and meaningful role in our society. That is why …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister
17 December 2025
Engagements
Q11. Over the past few weeks, I have been contacted by a number of constituents who work in the health and care sector, because they are concerned about the proposed changes to the rules on indefinite leave to remain. These individuals came to this country to do a job that we asked them to do, and t…
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
AI Safety
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Butler. I thank the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) for securing this timely and important debate.
There is little doubt in my mind that AI is transformational technology that will bring many benefits to our society. To fully r…
Commons
Oral Questions
Work and Pensions
8 December 2025
Welfare Spending: Economic Impact
I welcome the child poverty strategy published on Friday. Will the Secretary of State outline what more needs to be done to end child poverty for good?
Commons
Debate
3 December 2025
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
I will speak to a number of amendments tabled in my name. I thank the Pensions Minister for discussing them with me yesterday. I look forward to his comments later in the debate.
I spent a number of years as a regional trade union official with responsibility for the local government pension scheme…
I want to press the Minister slightly more on the need for UK pension funds not to invest in companies that could be guilty of war crimes and breaking international law. Would he like to reflect on that?
Commons
Debate
25 November 2025
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Does my hon. Friend agree that housing is a key determinant of public health, and that we should see a right to decent housing as a crucial part of any civilised society?
I welcome the opportunity this debate offers to lift our eyes to the bigger picture of what a better, fairer country might look like. New clause 13 on the charter for community rights, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff), does exactly that, and it repre…
Commons
Westminster Hall
24 November 2025
Gaza: Humanitarian Obligations
To enable the safe transfer of aid, we must uphold the right to provide humanitarian relief to people in need. My constituent, Louie Findlater, was on the recent aid flotilla that came under drone attack. Louie returned safely, but other volunteers were kidnapped and wrongfully detained.
My other c…
Commons
Debate
18 November 2025
Warm Homes Plan
The hon. Member is making a powerful case about fuel poverty. In my constituency, around 5,000 households are experiencing fuel poverty—about one in 10 homes. We know that three factors affect this issue: the energy efficiency of a property, the household’s income, and the cost of keeping warm. Give…
Commons
Oral Questions
Home Department
17 November 2025
Rural Crime
More than 2,000 wildlife crimes were recorded last year, but fewer than 50 resulted in convictions. I therefore welcome the Government’s commitment to consult on strengthening the Hunting Act 2004. Will the Minister update the House on what discussions she has had with departmental colleagues to ens…
Commons
Debate
13 November 2025
5 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
This Bill has sparked a keen interest among my constituents. It is important to recognise that people who live in Poole want to protect the environment and the benefits that living in a nature-rich part of the country gives them. I welcome some of the changes made to the Bill in the other place, man…
As several hon. Members have already mentioned, we have to find the correct balance between building the houses that we so desperately need and protecting our vulnerable nature and the habitats that we want to preserve.
The Wildlife and Countryside Link states that
“some species cannot be traded a…
+3 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
5 November 2025
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
The Minister may remember that on Report, I tabled a number of amendments in the hope of safeguarding the public from seeing their bank become an arm of the state. Today, I will speak about Lords amendment 43, which deals with the scope of the eligibility verification measure. The EVM would give the…
Commons
Debate
3 November 2025
Huntingdon Train Attack
I echo the Home Secretary’s comments and the tributes that have already been paid in the House. She will know, though, that the British Transport police is facing an unprecedented funding deficit that threatens safety on our railways. There is currently a shortfall of £8.5 million and a threat to ne…
Commons
Westminster Hall
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Independent Lifeboats: Government Support
It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Mrs Harris. I congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) on securing this important debate. It is only right that, as the Member for Poole, I should speak today. My constituency is the location of the RNLI’s headquarters, including t…
I shall pick up where I left off when the hon. Member for Clacton (Nigel Farage) rudely interrupted me.
In 2023, the Poole lifeboat crew launched 146 times. It launched 102 times last year, and 109 times so far this year. I therefore pay tribute to all those at Poole lifeboat station, and place on …
Commons
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Hospices: Ringfenced Funding
4. Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing ringfenced NHS funding for children’s hospices to £30 million by 2030.
I absolutely welcome the Government’s announcement last week that funding for children’s hospices will be extended for the next three years and will rise in line with inflation. Julia’s House is one such hospice that serves families in my constituency. However, children’s hospices still face challen…
Commons
Westminster Hall
15 September 2025
3 contributions
Children with SEND: Assessments and Support
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq.
It is with a great sense of pride that I speak in this debate, because it was my constituent, Rachel Filmer, who launched this petition, which has secured over 100,000 signatures. It is great to see Rachel in the Public Gallery today.
Some we…
As I am a keen universalist, I have to agree with my hon. Friend.
There is also a bureaucracy to navigate. It takes massive amounts of time, effort and knowledge of process for parents to navigate the system to get the support they need. That puts parents with lower educational attainment, complex …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
10 September 2025
Bus Services (No. 2) Bill [Lords]
I rise to speak in favour of new clause 21, which stands in my name. Many members may be unaware that the fare cap that applies to single bus journeys does not apply to services that are provided exclusively to take children to and from school. That is why my new clause calls for the national £3 bus…
Commons
Westminster Hall
8 September 2025
2 contributions
Indefinite Leave to Remain
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. Some months ago, I led a debate in this Chamber on the merits of a certificate of common sponsorship in relation to the social care sector. In that debate, I highlighted the unfair and precarious nature of having an employment visa linked…
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman. Any employment status that traps workers in those conditions has to be addressed, and the proposed extension of the ILR period from five years to 10 will potentially trap those workers in what we can only describe as long-term exploitation.
The immigration Whi…
Commons
Oral Questions
1 September 2025
Poverty Reduction
Tackling poverty should be a key priority of any Government who wish to see their people thrive. The Equality Act 2010 includes a socioeconomic duty on all public bodies to address inequalities “when making strategic decisions”. When will that duty be enacted in England?
Commons
Oral Questions
Housing, Communities and Local Government
14 July 2025
Topical Questions
T8. The latest evidence shows that the gap between average wages and rent in my constituency of Poole is one of the widest in the country. Can the Minister explain how we will ensure that the new homes that we build will be truly affordable and not subject to excessive rent increases?
Commons
Debate
9 July 2025
2 contributions
Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill
I rise to call for the removal of clauses 2 and 3 from the Bill, because I think they get to the heart of the unfairness contained within it.
There can be no doubt for those of us who were here last week that trust was eroded between the Government and disabled people’s organisations—that trust wil…
That intervention is further evidence that our welfare system is not working. I understand that some Members may consider voting for this Bill tonight because of the proposed uplift to the standard rate of universal credit. Disabled groups that I have met are clear that that is not worth having if i…
Commons
Debate
7 July 2025
3 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
The Bill represents a timely attempt to create a system whereby fewer and bigger pension funds can provide better value for members and do more to support the UK economy. Key to this, though, will be ensuring that pensioners get a decent income in retirement, alongside creating the conditions that a…
I think that what the hon. Member raises is the creativity that we need on this issue, so that we look beyond the obvious investments towards some that perhaps have more social worth. I hope that the Bill will allow for that.
For pension savers to have a secure future, we will need to phase out inv…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
30 June 2025
Welfare Reform
I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. I wonder if she will reflect on whether the Bill before us tomorrow is the best way of making welfare policy. Would it not be better to withdraw the Bill and wait for the Timms review to complete its important work?
Commons
Westminster Hall
17 June 2025
12 contributions
Disabled People in Poverty
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Government support for disabled people in poverty.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Jardine. Most hon. Members present will be aware that this debate takes place in the shadow of the publication of the welfare Bill, probably tomorrow,…
Yes, I agree, and later I will talk about disabled people and how employment may be a route out of poverty.
Any losses through changes to benefits will overwhelmingly fall on those who are already the poorest in our society. The Government are right that the social security system is in need of ref…
+10 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
9 June 2025
4 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
I rise to speak in favour of amendment 69 and new clause 32, which were both tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for North East Hertfordshire (Chris Hinchliff). I commend him for his work on the Bill.
I believe the Government have got it wrong with their changes to nature protection. I appreciate t…
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree.
Amendment 69 also mandates that improvements be delivered before harm occurs. Without that, we risk species being pushed closer to extinction before their habitats are replaced. Worst of all, the Bill still will not deliver the affordable homes we desperately need.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Ministerial Statement
9 June 2025
Winter Fuel Payment
I welcome today’s statement. As one of the MPs who spoke against the decision to means-test the winter fuel payment last year, I pay tribute to all the campaigners who have lobbied hard for a change in policy. Does the Minister agree that means-testing has once again failed and that effectively what…